


When The Darkness Comes

by KaixChan



Category: Numb3rs
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dirty Talk, Fluff and Angst, Long Distance Relationship, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Phone Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-17
Updated: 2015-05-27
Packaged: 2018-01-19 17:28:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1478017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaixChan/pseuds/KaixChan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Don and Charlie met over the internet and became best friends. After five years of friendship with two of those years being spent together, they begin the process of closing the distance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [OldeShoestrings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OldeShoestrings/gifts).



> This work was inspired by my sis who suggested Don/Charlie, AU, dirty pictures and phone sex. This is what came out of it. They aren't related in this. They're just two people who share the same last name. No matter what, I can't imagine them as anything else but an Eppes. *nods*

The instant Charlie opens the picture, he presses his hand to his forehead in exasperation. Of course. He should have known.

“I told you how many times, Don Eppes? I don’t want your dirty pictures.”

“That’s an outright lie and we both know it.”

The genius stares at his lover, a man who ironically shares the same last name as him but they weren’t related in the slightest. He ran the probability of that the moment they met in a chatroom and wasn’t surprised when they were remarkably low. 

“Maybe. Did you know one time I opened one during work and my colleague had to contain her nosebleed? It was embarrassing.”

Don snorts. “I should be embarrassed that some random woman saw that but I’m not.”

“You have no shame.”

“You may have a point there, Chuck.”

Charlie points at his webcam, hating the smirk on Don’s face. “I also told you I hate that name but you insist on calling me it for some reason.”

“Your reactions are priceless, that’s why.”

The older man is improbable, Charlie decides, because nothing is impossible but things can be improbable. Rolling his eyes, he sheds his shirt, because it was late and he was going to bed in an hour.

“Have you been working out?” Don asks shamelessly and Charlie can see his eyes lowering. 

_Pervert_ , Charlie mutters, mentally, moving away from the camera to find his pajama top and boxers. Effectively changing, he moves back towards the webcam, lowering it so he can sprawl out on the bed. “No, but I’ve been biking a bit more than usual.”

“Damn.”

“I’ve told you this before and I’ll tell you again; you’re a shameless pervert.”

“You still love me,” his lover says with that ever confident smirk and Charlie finds himself falling in love all over again.

“You’re right,” he replies, responding to the smirk with a small smile. “I still do.”

**X**

“Chuck, you do realize what time it is, right?”

“Um-…” 

“It’s 2 in the morning and I have to be up in four hours.”

An embarrassed chuckle. “I’m sorry, man. We haven’t talked in a week because of your latest case and when you said you were free I couldn’t help myself—“

“It’s fine, babe,” Don murmurs, his tone dropping to this side of sultry, “but you’ll have to make it up to me.”

“Er, okay.” Charlie blinks, not that Don can see, and he adorns a confused expression. “What do you want?”

“Talk dirty to me.”

“…We tried this. I’m no good at it.”

“That was when we first got together two years ago. I’m sure you’ve improved.”

Charlie blushes heavily, never being able to resist when Don’s voice went like _that_. “Fine. You’ll be,” an embarrassed cough, “touching yourself, so—“

“I already have the lube in my hand.” The genius can practically hear the smirk. “Do it, Eppes.”

“Turn off the lights,” Charlie demands, grinning a little at the tiny moan he hears on the other end. “Lower your hand. Give yourself a little squeeze—are you doing it?”

“Fuck. You are better than before,” Don gasps, squeezing a little just like his lover demanded, shivering at the pleasure that zings along his nerves. “What else do you want me to do, Chuck?”

“Squeeze harder. Move your hand up and down, slowly at first. Speed up a little then slow down. Keep doing that.” Loud moans and gasps grace Charlie’s ears and he feels himself getting harder underneath his jeans. “Stop.”

“Are you kidding me?” 

“Just do it, Eppes,” Charlie says in his best I’m-a-professor-now-listen-to-me voice. “Pour enough lube in your hand that it feels like a mouth sucking you off. Do what I told you before except imagine it’s my sinful little mouth sucking you off.”

“Ahh, fuck,” Don’s voice takes on a bit of a desperate edge. Charlie stays silent but he knows the younger man is listening to every gasp, moan, and curse that falls from his lips. Not even two minutes later, the world grays out at the edges and Don’s hips snap up as he comes all over his hand and the bed. 

“That was the best orgasm I’ve had in a long time,” he mumbles breathlessly. “I would help you with your problem I’m sure you’re having but I’m tired. Night babe.”

“Goodnight Don,” Charlie whispers, smiling a little as the call disconnects. Opening up one of the (many) dirty pictures Don sent him, he takes care of himself, then gets ready for his day.

**X**

Charlie fidgets. Don never knew he was coming so he was nervous about how his lover would react. Raising a shaking hand, he knocks on the door.

“Coming, coming,” Don’s voice comes from the other side of the oak and the genius blushes at the word choice. The door opens, revealing the older man in a t-shirt and jeans, and his eyes widen. “Charlie?”

“Hi,” he murmurs, his voice taking on an embarrassed tinge. “Surprise?”

“I—“ Don falters. “What are you doing here?”

“I got time off,” Charlie responds, shrugging a shoulder. “My friend took over my classes.” He grins a bit. “You aren’t even going to let me in after I went through all the trouble to come see you, Eppes?”

A strong hand pulls on his arm and Charlie barely has time to react before Don’s mouth crashes on his. A happy moan escapes him and he wraps his arms around the older man, holding him close. “That’s better,” he murmurs once they break apart, foreheads pressed together.

“I’m a shameless pervert as _someone,_ ” a tap on the cheek, “keeps reminding me so that’s the best greeting I can come up with.”

“It’s good enough for me.” Charlie smiles. “I’m home.”

“Yeah,” Don replies with a smile of his own. “You are.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look, another chapter. I never intended for this to become a multi-chaptered story but the inspiration stayed with me and I thought I had to add more to it. I'm not sure how many chapters there will be, but I have the whole thing planned in my head; I just have to write it. Anyway, enough about that. I hope people enjoy the way this story goes.

“I don’t want to go back.”

The words, laced with pain, snap Don out of his post-orgasmic haze and he wraps his arms tighter around his smaller lover, placing small kisses against his hair. 

“I know,” he whispers in Charlie’s curls. “I don’t want you to go back either, but we both knew this couldn’t last forever.”

“What if I move here?”

“Charlie,” a pause, “you built your life in London, just as I built my life here in Los Angeles. Neither of us can afford to move to the other person’s country right now.”

“I didn’t mean right now,” Charlie clarifies, a tiny smile pulling at his lips, eyes shining in the moonlight with unshed tears. “We’ve been best friends for five years and together for two of them. Based on simple math, we can survive a couple more years until I can move here.”

Don wants to say something along the lines of _You can’t give up your life for me_ but deep down, he knows it’ll be easier for Charlie to move to Los Angeles than for him to move to London. Deciding on saying nothing, he moves his hand in slow circles on Charlie’s chest.

“Mm,” the younger man purrs, eyes closing. A few stray tears leak from behind closed lids and Don wipes them away with a flick of his thumb. “That feels good.”

“I always want you to feel good, no matter where we are in the world. Don’t forget that, okay?”

“I won’t,” Charlie mumbles in response, his voice taking on a sleepy slur. “Can we sleep now that we’ve had the best sex I’ve had in my life?”

“When you put it like that.” Don chuckles, wraps his arms tighter around Charlie, then drifts off to sleep, knowing his younger lover would be quick to join him.

**X**

Charlie doesn’t want to wake up. He wants to stay in the safe cocoon of Don’s arms for the rest of his life, but he knows he can’t. Blinking back tears, he moves, slowly, out of his beloved’s grasp, making his way to the bathroom. 

He looks at himself in the mirror and can’t help the tears this time. They had a precious few hours together before an ocean would separate them again. Charlie feels as if his heart is being ripped out and stepped on, but he wouldn’t trade the week he had with Don for anything. 

Scrubbing his face and doing his best to make himself look presentable, he steps out, seeing the older man sitting up and rubbing his eyes in an adorable, child-like fashion. “Morning, love,” Charlie greets, leaning down to press a kiss against Don’s lips. 

“Morning,” Don mumbles, his voice gruff with sleep. “How many hours do we have?”

“Five. Do you want the minutes and seconds too?”

“Just the hours are fine, genius. You can give me the minutes and seconds when we have an hour left.” Words that could have sounded hurtful come out as light and teasing. Even if they hadn’t, Charlie knows that Don would never intentionally hurt him, mentally or physically. 

“I don’t want to leave,” Charlie says, feeling the tears come back full force. “I don’t want to be separated from you now that I’ve had a taste of what it’s like to be with you physically.”

Don smiles, a sad one that hardly reaches his eyes. “I know baby, I know. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to get enough time off to visit you, but believe me when I say I’ll try my hardest to see you again.”

“I always believe you.” Charlie buries himself against his lover’s familiar body. “I’ll try to see you soon too.”

**X**

Amita greets him at the London airport, but Charlie can’t muster the energy to smile at her. He feels empty ever since that goodbye hug in Los Angeles that ended with him leaving his heart behind. He remains silent as she drives them to his flat, eyes looking at the familiar scenery. 

“How was your week?” Amita asks after ten minutes of silence. “Did you take pictures?”

Charlie fishes out his camera and flips through the pictures to find a suitable one to show his friend and colleague, tears burning his eyes when the memories of the past week hit him. “Here. This is us with his Dad.” He hands the camera to her once they reach a red light.

Amita takes it and a wide smile breaks out on her face. “You look so happy,” she says, handing the camera back to Charlie. “What’s his father’s name?”

“Alan.” Alan was a nice man. He welcomed him with open arms the moment Charlie and Don walked in the old house. “I think he was happy that his son found someone… although he kept asking about surrogate mothers.” Charlie laughs as he remembers the look on his lover’s face. “I think Don was horrified by the idea.”

His friend giggles. “I think any son would be,” she offers, stopping in front of his flat. “Here you are. Do you want me to stay or do you have a Skype date planned?”

Charlie grins a bit. “You know me too well. I’ll see you later. Thanks again, Amita.”

“Anytime,” Amita replies, leaning over to kiss Charlie’s cheek. “Have fun.”

He watches her drive off and with a wave, he enters his flat to unpack.

**X**

Charlie putters around his flat, concern making him fidget and wring his hands. He hadn’t heard from Don since their Skype date two days ago and it was worrisome. His lover would at least text him if something was going on.

His doorbell dings, causing Charlie to blink before he registers it. Getting up from his chair, he looks through the peephole, seeing a man wearing sunglasses.

“Who is it?” he asks. Normally he would let them in but Don gave him quite the lecture about that so he wasn’t about to make the same mistake.

“Open the door and find out, Chuck.”

Chuck. Only one person called him that. Flinging the door open, Charlie latches onto his lover, burrowing his face in Don’s chest.

“You’re here,” Charlie mumbles, his voice choked and watery. “You’re actually here.”

“Told you I’d try to get some time off.”

Familiar arms wrap around him and for the first time in two months, Charlie feels like he’s home.


	3. Chapter 3

“Now it’s me who doesn’t want to go back.”

Charlie stares at his lover, barely registering the words. He was tired after a long day at his work and all he wanted to do was sleep. 

However, he props himself on an elbow and stares at Don with an eyebrow raised. “Now you know how I felt when I had to leave you behind.”

“Yeah. It hurts more than I thought it would.” 

“Mmmhmm.”

Don chuckles at Charlie’s sleepy tone. “Do you want a chance to sleep? We can talk about this tomorrow even if tomorrow is when-…”

“No,” Charlie cuts him off and for a moment Don’s not sure if he meant _no I don’t want a chance to sleep_ or _no don’t talk about you leaving_. 

Using his knowledge of the younger man, he guesses it’s the latter. “Charlie—“

“No. Don’t talk about it.” Charlie’s tone is firm. “We’ll talk about tomorrow when it’s tomorrow. I want to indulge myself in you until then.”

Don wants to protest, but then Charlie takes him in his wet heat and the words die on his lips. He’s reduced to guttural moans as his lover expertly plays his body, and in an embarrassingly short amount of time, he’s coming down Charlie’s throat and he lies back against the bed, panting. 

“That’s one hell of a distraction,” Don mumbles, grinning a little. “I could get used to it.”

“Pervert.” Charlie rolls his eyes and cuddles against his lover’s side. “Do you want more pictures for your phone?”

“I have enough dirty ones to last me a while. If I need more you can send some to me.” 

“Who says I’ll send some to you?”

“I do and you can never resist me.”

Charlie grumbles his annoyance but a smile is on his face. “Fine, you win.”

“’Course I do. There is one picture I want though.”

“What’s that?” The younger man blinks, confusion painting his features. Don smiles. Charlie’s truly irresistible when he’s all confused.

“C’mere,” Don commands, crooking his finger. He grins at the blush on Charlie’s face as he scoots closer and he wraps a secure arm around him. Lifting his phone over them, he pushes the camera button, looking over the picture once it clicks. “This’ll tide me over for a while.”

Charlie looks at the picture, smiling a little. “I’d say it will.”

**X**

Don opens his eyes, blinking against the harsh sunlight. Was the sun brighter in London or was that just him? Shaking his head at himself, he runs a hand through Charlie’s hair, hating that he’ll be leaving his love behind. 

“Mmgh, too early,” the shorter man mumbles, batting at Don’s hands before settling against his chest. “What time is it?”

“Eight. I have to be on my plane by one.” 

“Four hours.” Charlie stretches and rubs his eyes. “That’s plenty of time to give us something to remember.”

They make love slowly, imprinting the other’s taste and feel. In almost no time at all, three hours have gone by and Don packs his things as Charlie watches. 

“I hate this part,” Charlie says after a few minutes of silence and Don nods his agreement. 

He finishes quickly and after making sure he’s packed everything, he leans over and gives his lover a fierce kiss. “You’ll have to come see me next time,” Don teases, mussing Charlie’s hair affectionately.

“I’ll see if Amita can take over some of my classes in the coming weeks,” Charlie responds seriously. “She likes you, you know.”

“The best friend gives me a royal stamp of approval? I’d say that’s a good thing.”

“It is a good thing. It’s hard to win Amita’s love.” Charlie chuckles a little. “She didn’t like that I was with someone across the ocean at first, but she warmed up to the idea once she saw how happy I was, I think.”

“My Dad wasn’t too happy about me being with you either. In the beginning it was because you weren’t a woman but later it was that he had no idea how long distance relationships worked.” Don lets loose a megawatt smile at the memory of his Dad and Charlie’s first encounter. “Now he won’t stop bugging me about surrogate mothers.”

“One of us has to move to the other person’s country first,” Charlie says in a matter-of-fact tone, his own smile threatening to split his face. “Give me two years and I’ll see about applying to teach at a local university. I’ve heard a lot about one in particular-… CalSci?”

“I’ve heard about that place,” Don offers, double checking to make sure he didn’t forget anything. It wouldn’t bode well for him if he was on his plane and realized he forgot a crucial item like his cellphone. “I think the math department would do well with Professor Charles Eppes added to their roster.”

“The transfer process can be painful, but I’ll see about Amita helping with it. She’s done it a couple times between the United States and here.”

“Oh really?” 

“Yeah.” Charlie gazes at the clock and sighs at the time. “As much as I’d love to stay with you in my flat for the rest of time, your plane leaves in forty minutes and twenty nine seconds, so we should get going.”

Don pulls Charlie over for a tight hug once he notices his lover on the verge of a breakdown. “We’ll see each other sooner rather than later, okay? Don’t be sad.”

“I’ll try.” The younger man smiles a little and wraps his arms tighter around the one his heart belongs to. “I love you with all my heart, you know that, don’t you?”

“I know.” He steals a kiss from the other half of his very self. “I love you too.”

**X**

Not even two weeks after Don returns to Los Angeles, he receives a new case about a pair of bank robbers. Charm School Boys. He scoffs. There has to be a reason why they’re so successful without weapons.

When three people, including an agent, die in the crossfire after they confront them, he realizes why they did so well. 

Wincing at the pain in his arm, Don opens his Skype, having received a text earlier that day in which Charlie expressed concern. He barely spoke to his lover since he received the case and he could see why Charlie would be concerned after their hour conversations resort to a few minutes in passing.

Almost on cue, the telltale ring of an incoming call graces Don’s ears and he accepts it, doing his best to put on a normal face. He didn’t want Charlie to be even more concerned than he already was.

“Are you okay?” the younger man asks without preamble once the call connects. “You’re in pain—what happened?”

Of course. Don should have known better. He’s never been able to hide things from Charlie, no matter what the situation was. “There was a bad case, that’s all,” he replies.

“Bad case?” Silence passes between them for several moments before Charlie says, “You got shot, didn’t you?”

“In the arm. It’s okay.”

“You got shot.” Charlie moves away from the camera for a brief moment before returning. “I’m coming to see you.”

“Charlie, I’m—“

“Don’t do this, Don. You’re not okay. You got shot which means you almost died. I could have lost you today and I wouldn’t have been able to do a damn thing about it.” Charlie’s voice almost goes hysterical but he puts a reign on his emotions before it gets that bad. “I’m going to book the next flight and I’ll see you soon.”

The call disconnects and Don sighs. _So much for not worrying him._

**X**

He manages to get away from the case long enough to wait for his lover at the airport. One look at the times shows that Charlie’s flight would land in five minutes so Don chews on a piece of gum as he waits, nervous for two reasons. One, he was seeing Charlie again. Two, the circumstances for seeing him were far from ideal.

He watches the Gate 3, seeing a familiar head amongst the crowd of people exactly six minutes later. Despite the circumstances, he can’t help but smile, embracing Charlie in a hug as tight as his arm would allow, loving the feel of the smaller man curling up against him. 

“I know it’s been less than three weeks but I missed this,” Charlie mumbles against Don’s chest. “I missed you.”

“Same here, Chuck,” Don says, resting his chin familiarly on his lover’s head. “Same here.”


	4. Chapter 4

David and Terry became used to seeing Charlie in the office, sporting a visitors tag on his jacket. They didn’t know much about the man, only what Don tells them, and even that was barely anything. It was a need to know basis, they found out after a while.

Terry’s a profiler; she was trained to see little things in people, and she notices several between her boss and the somewhat mysterious man from London. They exchange subtle touches when they think no one is watching, Charlie hovers over Don while he’s working in his cubicle, and Don’s hand rests on Charlie’s shoulder for three seconds more than a casual touch would be. 

David’s not trained to notice little things, but he notices things that some would skim over. He notices that his boss stands close to Charlie when other agents are around and the look on his face that clearly said “back off”. The way Charlie sometimes clings to Don, his hand gripping Don’s arm, his face somewhat hidden by the taller man’s body, tells David that he’s intimidated by other agents.

They’re not sure if Don and Charlie notice the things they do, but it’s enough for them to treat Charlie as one of their own. They protect him like the family the FBI can be, shielding him from the harshness of the job when Don can’t. Even if Charlie only stays for a month, it’s enough time for them to decipher some of his mystery and see the man that their boss is clearly head over heels for.

**X**

“You’re heading back tomorrow?” 

Charlie looks at Alan as they eat the dinner Don’s father cooked for them, nodding as he stuffs a forkful of food in his mouth.

“He’s not very graceful when it comes to eating,” Don comments, wincing when Charlie kicks his leg from under the table. “Ow. That wasn’t nice.”

“Your fault,” Charlie mutters in annoyance as he continues eating.

“Sure, blame me, Chuck.”

“Boys, boys,” Alan breaks the little fight with a hand wave. “No fighting at the dinner table.”

“Fine, Pop,” Don mumbles in good humor. He pushes his plate away after a few minutes, grinning a little as Charlie does the same. Some would find it weird how in sync they were, but Don got used to it after a while. “Charlie and I are gonna head off. Do you need anything before I go?”

“No, no,” his Dad replies, smiling. “Take him home, Donnie, and use a condom.”

Charlie spits out the water he was drinking as Alan goes to the kitchen. “I see where you got your perverseness from,” he mutters.

“It runs in the family,” Don replies with a smirk.

**X**

Their third goodbye is the most sorrowful, due to the longevity of Charlie’s visit. Don hugs him tighter than normal, not wanting to let him go, but eventually Charlie pulls away, pressing a kiss against his lover’s lips. He waves as he goes through the gate and Don waves back until Charlie’s out of sight, and he sighs, making his way to his SUV, feeling like a piece of himself was forcibly ripped out.

Don drives to work, saying a casual hello to his team as he sits at his cubicle, remembering how Charlie hovered over him at this same spot. Scrubbing a hand over his face, he buries himself in paperwork.

“He’s gone?” Terry comments when she passes her boss’s desk, leaning against it. “When will he be back?”

“It’s my turn to visit him,” Don answers, his tone distracted, his head lowered, entirely focused on his work. 

Terry knows her boss and knows it’s his way of coping with the fact Charlie was gone. “Are you going to apply for some time off?” she inquiries.

“I can’t for at least three months.”

Terry whistles. “Can you cope without him for that long?”

“We’ve been dealing with distance for five years. Three months is nothing.”

The short answers tell the profiler that her boss doesn’t want to talk about it. Nodding, she goes to her desk, making a mental note to keep an eye on Don, at least the first few days in Charlie’s absence. 

**X**

Three months go by and another three on top of that. The Bureau piles case upon case on Don’s team and it barely left him enough time to give Charlie a casual text to say he was still alive. At the end of the day, Don’s so tired that he crawls into bed and remains dead to the world until his alarm rings at six a.m. He knows it’s not fair to either of them, but he loves his job as much as he loves Charlie.

At this rate, Don thinks (with good humor) that he’ll have to pick one of them sooner or later.

“You’re still not gone to see him?” his Dad asks when Don finally gets enough time to have a family dinner with him. “It’ll be years before you do if you keep this up.”

“Charlie understands,” Don says with confidence, shoving a forkful of food in his mouth. “Speaking of Charlie, I should let him know I’ll be able to talk to him tonight.”

He fishes out his phone and was just about to start the text message when a knock at the door stops him. Something about that knock was familiar but he shrugs it off.

Alan gets up to answer it and a few seconds later a familiar voice graces Don’s ears. “You never came to see me.”

Eyes widening, he turns around, coming eye to eye with Charlie who has a wide grin on his face. For a few seconds he sits there, not registering that his lover was standing right in front of him. However, it wears off when Charlie moves forward and claims his mouth in a quick, but passionate kiss. 

“I’ve missed that,” the younger man murmurs Don’s lips, his grin softening to an affectionate, tender smile. 

“I thought it was my turn to see you,” Don whispers back, snaking his arms around Charlie and pulling him close. They went half a year without contact and as much as he wanted to reinstate his claim on Charlie, his father was standing _right there_ with a smirk on his face as if he could read his son’s thoughts. 

“You were taking too damn long,” Charlie mutters in good humor, rolling his eyes. “I realized it’s easier for me to get time off than it is for you so I asked Amita to take over my classes. I’m here for two weeks.”

“That’s great, son!” Alan exclaims, causing Charlie to jump and turn his head. “There’s enough dinner here for you if you’d like to eat actual food.”

“You’ve read my mind,” Charlie replies and he makes himself comfortable on Don’s lap. At his lover’s raised eyebrow he smirks. “I’m not going to stop touching you now that we’re together. Besides, your lap is comfortable.”

“Whatever you say, Chuck,” Don says with an eye roll. Typical Charlie.

**X**

“I wanted to tell you before,” Charlie begins, curled up against Don’s chest, a content smile on his face, “but you were quite intent on dragging me to bed.”

“Tell me what?” Don asks, grinning a little. “I haven’t seen you in half a year, Charlie. ‘Course I wanted to reacquaint myself with everything about you.”

“I get that.” Comfortable silence falls between them, the sole sounds being their quiet breathing and the rain pattering against the windows. “Amita helped me with the transfer process.”

“Transfer process?” It takes a minute for what Charlie’s saying to register in Don’s mind, but once it does, a smile pulls at his lips. “Does that mean what I think it means?”

“Yeah. In two months I’ll be a professor of mathematics at CalSci.” 

After six years of friendship, three of them as a couple, they’ll finally close the distance. The realization of that causes Charlie to grin, snuggling happily against his lover’s side. Instead of goodbye, after this, they’ll only be saying goodnight to each other.

**X**

Charlie notices some differences in Don’s team when he visits his lover at his work. Terry is gone (he was expecting that, Don text him when it happened to say she returned to DC), and in her place was another woman and a man. 

“You must be Charlie?” the woman greets as he makes his way through the office, extending her hand. “My name is Megan. Megan Reeves. Don told us about you.”

“He did?” Charlie inquiries, shaking the agent’s hand. He feels oddly touched that Don would mention him during work. 

“He seems happy whenever he talks about you,” Megan replies, smiling in a way that makes Charlie instantly feel comfortable around the woman. 

“Charlie, good to see you again,” David says as he passes, clapping a hand on Charlie’s shoulder. “What brings you by?”

“I’m just visiting,” Charlie says in response, his smile widening. “Who’s the new agent?”

As if on cue, the new agent comes up to him and extends his hand. “Colby. Colby Granger. You’re Charlie?”

“Does everyone know me?” Charlie mumbles, shaking his head in amusement, as he takes Colby’s extended hand. “Yeah, I’m Charlie. Nice to meet you, Colby. You too, Megan.”

“There he is,” Charlie hears from behind him. Arms wrap around his waist and a kiss is pressed against his neck. “What are you all talkin’ about?”

“We’re just meeting the man that you’re so smitten with,” Colby replies, smirking at the look on Don’s face. His smirk settles to a grin when Charlie erupts in full on laughter. “What’s so funny?”

“Smitten with me?” Charlie says between breathless laughter, glad for Don holding him up or he might have fallen over. “That’s a new one.”

“You should see the doe-eyes he makes when he doesn’t think you’re looking,” Colby continues. “It’s kind of embarrassing.”

“Enough about me,” Don says with a hint of warning in his tone. He’s glad that Charlie’s laughing, but he’s not so happy about the reasons. “Have you found out more about the latest case?”

The agents settle to full-on work mode and Charlie wraps his arms around Don’s shoulders when the older man lets him go. He smiles at the content look on his lover’s face and rests his head against Don’s as he works. The love he feels in that moment makes him realize that yes, this is the man he wants to spend the rest of his life with.

**X**

Their final goodbye is one filled with promise of the life ahead of them. Don and Charlie smile at each other, embracing one another in the airport and giving a chaste kiss goodbye. As Charlie disappears in the sea of people, Don’s smile widens, knowing that next time they see each other, they’ll be together for the rest of their lives.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew. Three days and 3,000+ words later, this chapter is finished. I've tried to catch all the mistakes but it's rather hard to catch every single one in longer pieces and chapters. Enough of my rambling, enjoy the chapter!

“I’ll miss you.”

Charlie stops his packing and looks at his best friend, a tiny smile on his face. Amita looks like a kicked puppy but he can tell she’s doing her best to hide it. “You can visit me,” he says by way of comfort, moving forward and resting a hand on her arm.

Her small hands grip his in a grasp that’s surprisingly strong. “I know,” she replies, the corner of her mouth turning up. “Do you think you’ll be able to get away from Don to make time for me?”

“Of course.” Charlie’s surprised that his friend would bring that up. Don and Amita seemed to get along so well the one time he was here. Maybe he read their body language wrong? He was never a good study of people, even with his professor position. “I’ll always have time for you, Amita.”

She smiles, a real one this time, and reaches forward, wrapping her arms around him. “I like Don, I do. I can’t help but be jealous at what he has.”

“Jealous?” Charlie’s brows furrow in confusion. Why would Amita be jealous? He returns the hug, turning it over in his mind for a few moments before realization dawns on him. “You love me, don’t you?” he asks, not bothering to hide the surprise in his tone.

“Yes.” Amita looks down, color flushing her cheeks, and she pulls away, looking at anything but Charlie. “I realized it after Don was here and I saw the way you looked at him. I realized _I_ wanted to be the one you looked at that way.” She shrugs. “I know it’ll never happen. I have to move on and I’ve accepted that.”

“Amita.” Charlie sighs. He never liked hurting people, especially if they were people he was close to. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry for being happy, Charlie. I see how happy he makes you. You two were made for each other.” Amita smiles and her eyes move from the wall to stare at Charlie’s face. “Do you want help with packing the rest of your things?”

Charlie nods, smiles, and he’s grateful that things feel normal between them despite Amita’s surprising confession. “I do hope you’ll visit me,” he says once they’ve finished packing. “If you can’t, I’ll ask Don about coming down every couple of months to make sure you haven’t died on me.”

Amita laughs at Charlie’s sense of humor. “I’ll do my best,” she replies in good humor, nudging her best friend playfully. “Same goes to you. Text me every once in a while so I know Don hasn’t ravished you to death.”

Charlie blushes but he nods his agreement. “I promise.”

**X**

“Take care of yourself.”

Charlie smiles at Amita and gives her a hug goodbye. “You too, Amita. I know you’ll be great at my classes.” He grins a bit. “Hell, they might forget all about me.”

Amita smiles, hating the tears that threaten to spill over. They’re not saying goodbye forever, she reminds herself, but Charlie’s been in her life since she was ten and he was nine. It would be hard, getting used to not having him around all the time. 

“Maybe,” she replies once she realizes Charlie’s staring at her with a concerned expression. “Now go. Call me when you land, even if it’s late, okay?” Amita leans forward and kisses Charlie’s cheek. “I love you.”

Charlie wipes away the tears hiding in Amita’s eyes. “Count on it. I love you too, Amita. You’re the sister I never had.”

He waves and she waves back as he disappears in the sea of people. This is the end of one life and the beginning of another.

**X**

_On my way. I’ll see you soon. I love you._

_Looking forward to it. Love you too, Charlie._

**X**

Don pockets his phone and skims through the paperwork sitting on his desk, an elated feeling bubbling in his chest. Six years. It took them six years, but they’re closing the distance. A grin settles on his lips as he continues working, either ignoring the looks that people send him or not noticing at all.

Ten and a half hours later, he’s at the airport, sitting on one of the chairs provided as he looks at the times on the wall. Charlie’s flight would arrive in ten minutes and it would signify the beginning their new life together. If he didn’t have as tight a reign on his emotions as he did, Don figures he might be crying at how happy he is. 

“Don!” a voice exclaims twelve minutes later (he counted the minutes and even the seconds—Charlie was rubbing off on him). He barely has time to look up before a solid body crashes into his and arms wrap so tightly around him that Don feels like his air supply might be becoming limited. “I’m home.”

Chuckling, Don wraps his arms around Charlie, nuzzling his face in his lover’s neck. “You are, Chuck,” he says, letting affection bleed in his voice. “You are.”

**X**

They stop at Don’s apartment to drop off Charlie’s bags before making their way to the Craftsman. Alan told his son earlier that day he wanted them to drop by when Charlie arrived, no matter the time, so that was the reason they were on their way there at eleven p.m.

Don opens the door with his key, giving the house a preliminary inspection before nodding and ushering Charlie inside. He knows it’s silly that he gave his family home a once over before letting Charlie in, but he may be a little overprotective when it comes to the smaller man.

Charlie seemed to pick up on that, as a laugh erupts from his lips and he nudges Don playfully. “It’s your old house, Donnie,” he says between laughs. “No bad guy is going to jump out and attack us.”

“You’d be surprised,” Don counters before he yells, “Hey, Pop!”

Alan comes down the stairs, a wide smile on his face once he notices who was standing in the entryway. “Charlie, Don! Good to see you boys,” he says sincerely, going down the rest of the stairs to give Charlie one of his famous Alan Eppes hugs. “I hope you know what you’re getting into, my boy,” he teases, patting Charlie’s shoulder. “You’ll be living off frozen dinners and pizza.”

“I think I have a good idea,” Charlie teases back, grinning at the look of mock-hurt on Don’s face. “I still love you even if you can’t cook worth a damn,” he reassures, squeezing his lover’s arm before his phone rings. “Excuse me for a minute.”

Charlie extracts himself from the warm, family feeling to check his phone. The caller ID causes him to raise an eyebrow before he answers it. “Hello?”

“Charles Edward Eppes!” his mother’s voice screeches in his ear, just this side of hysterical. “What’s this I hear about you moving to Los Angeles?”

“I’ve already moved here,” Charlie responds, voice tight. “Why do you care? You haven’t seen me in ten years.”

“Don’t pull that tone with me, young man! Why the sudden interest in the States?” 

Charlie clenches his teeth and his body posture must have tipped Don off because he feels a comforting hand on his shoulder, kneading the muscle with a gentle touch. “If you would have paid attention to my life, mother,” he spits the word out with disgust, “you’d have known I met someone six years ago and we’ve been together for three.”

“What?! Who? Don’t you know people on the internet are perverts? I thought your father and I raised you better than that.”

“Don’t you dare insult him. He’s a better person than you could ever hope to be,” Charlie seethes, leaning into his lover’s touch. “How did you know? I never told you and I don’t know anyone who would.”

“I went to your university and they said you put in a transfer,” Olivia Eppes says in disgust. “I haven’t seen you in ten years and when I do you tell me you’re gay and you’ve moved across the world. Unbelievable. You disappoint me, Charles.”

“You know what? I don’t care. You abandoned me. I don’t give a shit what you think about me or my life. Goodbye, mother.” 

Charlie slams his phone shut and barely resists the urge to snap it in half. He turns around, sagging in Don’s embrace and letting those familiar arms soothe away his worries. “I’m sorry you had to hear that,” he murmurs, feeling tears burn his eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

“Shh, it’s okay,” Don soothes, pulling Charlie closer to him. “What was that about?”

“My mother. Ten years ago my Dad died and she left. I hadn’t heard a word from her until now.” Charlie sighs. “Now I don’t know what to do.”

“No parent should leave their child after a traumatic event like a death,” Alan pipes up, his face a hard mask. “Don’t let it bother you, Charlie. We may not know each other well enough to know what the other person’s favorite food is,” at this, Charlie laughs, “but I see you’re with my son for the long run. That makes you a part of our family.”

“Exactly,” Don confirms, pulling his lover away enough so he can kiss his forehead. “I love you, Chuck. You’re the one thing in my life that’s always been good.”

Charlie rolls his eyes at the nickname but a warm feeling of love courses through his being at the small, almost chaste, kiss. “Same here, Donnie. I’d do anything for you.”

“Now that we have that established,” Alan says, breaking the tender moment with a grin, “how about we watch a game?”

**X**

It’s past two a.m. when Don and Charlie leave the Eppes family house with a goodbye and a promise to return. Charlie looks out the window, his eyes seeming to be far away, and it causes Don to look at his lover with concern. _What did his mother say that made him this bad?_

“Are you all right, Charlie?” he asks after a few minutes of silence. “You’ve been quiet since we left.”

“I never told you this,” Charlie begins, heaving a heavy sigh. He moves his hand to rest on Don’s arm, the familiar texture of it causing his nerves to calm down a bit. “My mother… She hated me. She told countless times she wished I was never born. Sometimes…” Here he pauses and grips the older man’s arm hard enough that his knuckles turn white. “Sometimes she’d hit me.”

“Charlie,” Don breathes out, covering Charlie’s smaller hand with his. “Why did you never say anything? Six years and you never thought to bring this up?”

“I didn’t know how to and I did simple math which told me it wasn’t important enough to mention.”

“Yeah, well, for once your math is wrong.” 

Charlie runs his hand up to squeeze Don’s shoulder. “Shh. Don’t do this to yourself,” he soothes, running his hand in slow circles to try and ease the tension in the muscles.

“I know there were things you never told me about you; hell, there’s some things about me that you don’t know. But dammit Charlie, I’d think being beaten by your mother would be something you’d bring up.”

“I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?” Charlie drops his hand and sets them on his lap. He knows Don has a right to be angry, he’d probably be angry too if their positions were reversed. Despite that, he wished he could make his lover see that it was hard to bring up his most painful childhood memories.

“Tell me these things from now on.” Seeing Charlie’s tense frame, the older man sighs and squeezes his hand once they reach another red light. “I think I understand why you never told me, but no more of that, okay baby?”

“Okay.” Charlie fights back the tears and squeezes Don’s hand back. He feels as if they’ve overcome a major hurdle in their relationship, and it reinstates his earlier feeling that he’s found the one he wants to spend his forever with.

**X**

The professors at CalSci welcome him with open arms. His work was (apparently) well known within the math community so they were quite pleased with having him on board. He met the director of the maths department (who also was the director of the physics and cosmology ones) and while they got off on the wrong foot, eventually Charlie warms up to Mildred (Millie, he reminds himself) Finch. 

He meets Professor Larry Fleinhardt of the physics department and even though he’s leaving on some space trip in a matter of weeks, Charlie assumes they started off on the right foot. The professor shows him around, points out the various aspects of the university, and Charlie decides he likes Larry. He later finds out his relationship with Megan, and he thinks that their relationship is a lot like the one he shares with Don.

As they watch the shuttle get sent into orbit, the doorbell rings. Alan excuses himself to go answer it and Charlie can’t help the feeling of dread that courses through his blood. It proves to be right as a familiar voice echoes through the house. “Charles?”

Charlie freezes. Slowly, he turns his head, meeting the cold eyes of his mother. “Mother,” he replies, and at that instant, Don’s moved from the chair he was sitting in to Charlie’s side. “What are you doing here?”

Alan looks guilty but Charlie doesn’t blame the man. He never knew his mother and he never described her to him or Don. 

“I wanted to see what made you move,” Olivia Eppes says, her eyes moving to the agents in the room to settle on her son’s face. “Are these all your new friends?”

Charlie almost loses it at the motherly tone in her voice. He knows she’s putting on a show for the others in the room, but he’s not buying it, and from the look on Don’s face, he’s not buying it either. He’s about to say something when Don pipes up with, “Don’t act like the mother you never were.”

“Excuse me?” Olivia gives Don a disapproving look. “Who are you?”

“His name is Don Eppes,” Charlie interrupts his lover before he can say anything. “The love of my life.”

His mother’s eyes widen. “You have the same last name. You’re not related, are you?”

“No. I checked our family trees and all we share is the name.”

“At least you haven’t sunk that low,” Olivia mutters with disgust and Charlie feels as if she punched him in the stomach. He may have never known what a mother’s love was like, but it didn’t mean her attacks, mental or physical, never hurt.

“I think you should leave,” Don says, his voice taking on dangerous, low tone, “now.”

“Who are you to order me around?”

“I’d listen to my son, Mrs. Eppes. He’s in the FBI and could have you arrested for harassment,” Alan adds in, showing her the door. “and I’d also suggest not coming near your son ever again.”

He shuts the door behind Olivia and Charlie sags against his lover, trembling against him and burying himself in Don’s familiar warmth. Don holds him close in response, murmuring soothing words in his ear and stroking his back in slow circles. 

Eventually, the trembling stops and Charlie looks at his newfound friends in embarrassment. “I’m sorry you had to see that,” he mumbles, color flushing his cheeks. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Megan reassures, reaching over and patting Charlie’s arm. “Your reactions tell me all I need to know. We’ll protect you if she comes around again, right guys?”

“Count on it,” Colby agrees, grinning a bit. “Really man, it’s okay. She seemed like a bitch with a capital B.”

“Yeah,” Charlie agrees, laughing a little. He rests his head on Don’s shoulder and closes his eyes, letting the older man’s body heat reduce the tension in his muscles. The hand in his hair relaxes him all the more and in almost no time at all, he’s pliant against his lover’s body.

**X**

“What’s your ring size?”

“Hm?”

“Humor me.”

Don narrows his eyes, feeling sleep tug at him, but the tone in Charlie’s voice makes it ebb away a little. “Eight.”

Charlie smiles, running his hand along Don’s cheek. “That’s all I wanted to know. Go back to sleep.”

Despite the curiosity tugging at him, the older man complies with his lover’s request, drifting to a peaceful slumber.

**X**

“This one is fine, thank you.”

The jeweler nods and hands him the ring. Charlie pays for it, takes the box, and leaves the store, his stomach turning in knots. He can’t remember the last time he felt so nervous, but he knows he’s doing the right thing. Since moving to Los Angeles all those months ago, the feeling of wanting to spend the rest of his life with Don did nothing but intensify. Gay marriage wasn’t legal in California, but maybe someday it would be.

He gets in his Prius (a gift from Don, just because, he said) and drives to the Craftsman. He was still a bit disorientated when it came to driving on the other side of the car, but he was getting used to it day by day.

Charlie knocks on the door, finding it the proper thing to do even if he had a key. Alan opens it a few seconds later, giving him a wide smile and ushering him inside. “Charlie, what brings you here?” Instead of answering, Charlie fishes the box out of his pocket and shows it to Alan, only mildly surprised to see the tears in the man’s eyes once he realizes what it is. “Oh, son. You’ll make my boy the happiest man alive.”

“That’s the idea,” Charlie says, smiling a little. “When he gets off work, could you tell him to come here? I want your family house to be where we begin our new lives together.”

“Of course,” Alan agrees, giving Charlie a famous Alan Eppes hug. “Welcome to the family, my future son-in-law.”

**X**

Don’s familiar voice echoes through the old house and Charlie can feel his stomach turning in more knots than when he got the ring. “In here, Donnie!”  


“Hey, where’s the party?” Don teases affectionately, his smile turning to a slight frown at the look on Charlie’s face. “What’s going on?”

Charlie lets out a heavy sigh, moving towards his lover and gripping his hand. “Don. It’s been almost seven years since we first met and we’ve spent nearly four of them together. I can’t imagine anyone in my life that I’d love as much as I love you.” He mirrors the smile on the older man’s face. “You’ve given me some of the best memories of my life and we’ve been through almost everything a couple can go through. There’s nothing I value more than you.”

“You value me more than math?” Don cuts in, grinning. “I’d say that’s an accomplishment.”

“Smartass,” Charlie mutters, affection in his tone. “As I was saying before you interrupted me, there’s nothing I value more than you. Not math, not my life, nothing. I’d take a bullet if it meant you’d live another day.” Seeing that Don was about to say something, Charlie puts a hand on his mouth, his smile widening. “I’m not saying I’ll be jumping in front of bullets every day. That’s your job.

You’ve accepted me through my best times and my worst. You’ve learned my darkest secrets and still loved me and for that I love you all the more. So, what I’m asking is-…” Swallowing, Charlie moves down on one knee, fishing the ring box out of his pocket, the smile on his face turning to a grin as Don’s eyes widen. “Don Eppes, will you marry me?”

“Charlie,” Don moves down to join him on the floor, embracing the smaller man in a hug tighter than any one he received before. “Yes, a thousand times yes. I will.”

Charlie feels tears burn his eyes as he takes the ring and slides on his newfound fiancé’s ring finger. “I love you.”

“I love you,” Don repeats and Charlie can feel him smile against his neck. “More than I ever thought possible.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes. It's been forever since I've posted a chapter. Sorry about that. I got absorbed in other stories and this one kind of took the backburner. I think this is the longest one yet so take that as my apology. 
> 
> I stole some wording from Uncertainty Principle. Oopsie. Also, **major spoilers** for The Janus List and Trust Metric. You have been warned.
> 
> Enough about that, onto the chapter. ;3

The days pass and brutal case upon brutal case are dumped on Don’s team. Charlie wants to help but he knows he can’t; he doesn’t have the proper clearance to work on things regarding the FBI. All he can do is hope the local mathematician they’ve hired can protect his fiancé when he’s powerless to do so.

They seldom have time to explore the new dynamic of their relationship. By the time Don gets home, all he has the energy to do is shower and sleep. Although Charlie is often tempted to join him, he understands that it’s his love’s way of relaxing after a long day and it wouldn’t be right to intrude on that.

He knows the statistics, that sex is often an amazing stress reliever, but their relationship is far more than sex and sometimes Charlie gets that Don needs his alone time. It took a couple of years to reach that conclusion, but it doesn’t hurt like it did before; rather, he’s come to understand why Don needs that time to himself.

The day they find out Colby was a double, and later triple, agent is the only night where Don physically hurts him. He didn’t mean to, Charlie knows that, but it was rough, angry sex that served as nothing more than to get the edge and stress off from a friend’s bitter betrayal. Charlie covers the bruises on his arms, hips, and thighs well, but sometimes he sees Megan’s eyes drift to a purple bruise sticking out from the sleeve of his shirt or the hickies he’s not able to cover. 

Then Colby almost dies and Charlie has to realize that the mathematician they’ve hired is brilliant if they were able to find him before the drugs killed him. 

He sees the conflicted emotions on Don’s face, the anger, hurt, relief, confusion, loss. He hides them well from his team but Charlie’s known him for seven years; he can tell when Don’s trying to hide his true feelings from the rest of the world. The following night, Charlie whispers reassuring words to his fiancé as he lets down all of his barriers, lets Charlie see the raw emotion that he keeps hidden from everything else.

 _You’re the only one who sees this face._

The love they make that night is tender, reassuring each other that they’re still there and not going anywhere. Don kisses each bruise that he caused nights ago and Charlie runs his fingers through short hair, arching his back at the tender ministrations. Don’s tender moods were few and far between and he took advantage of them whenever he could. 

They give each other several orgasms, falling asleep content and sated in the other’s arms. Hours later, day breaks and they have to break out of their bubble to face the harsh realities of the world. Charlie kisses any skin exposed to him, not meant to excite but to reassure, and he smiles against Don’s skin as he runs a hand through his hair. 

That day, Charlie meets Liz Warner. He doesn’t know how they avoided each other until then, but once he learns her history with Don, he’s cautious, not sure if she has any lingering feelings towards him. However, she’s quick to reassure him with a smile that what she shared with his fiancé was in the past and she had no intention to interfere with their current relationship.

Liz congratulates them when she learns of their engagement and she grins at Don, jokingly saying that “Mr. No Commitment” finally found someone to settle down with. Charlie raises an eyebrow at that—he never heard Don being called such a name before—but Don waves it off, stubbornly refusing to go in any detail about it. Charlie guesses it’s one of the few things about the other man that he doesn’t know about, but he assumes that if Don wanted to talk about it, he would, so he lets the matter drop.

Charlie leaves the FBI office early, stating that he wanted to have another look at houses. Since their engagement, both he and Don were looking at various locations, knowing that the apartment wouldn’t suffice for married life. 

**X**

Two hours later, Don’s phone rings and he smiles a little at the familiar ringtone. He could spare some time to talk to Charlie since his work was at a lull, so he picks up the phone, saying, “Hey baby, what’s up?”

“D-Don.”

The tone of his fiancé’s voice causes him to sit up straighter at his desk, his mind rolling through the possibilities of why Charlie would sound like he was struggling to breathe, let alone talk. “Chuck? Are you okay?”

“M-My mother s-shot me b-before I-I could make it in o-our apartment,” Charlie rasps and a pained gasp follows soon after. “I-I’m sorry-…”

“Hold on, just hold on.” Don grabs his jacket and shuts down his computer. Nothing mattered except getting to Charlie before—no. He wouldn’t, couldn’t, think like that. “I’m coming. Stay with me until I get there, okay?”

“O-Okay,” Charlie whispers between moans and gasps of pain. “I-If I d-don’t make it, I’m—“

“Shut up. Don’t talk that way.”

Charlie’s labored breathing is his only answer and he gets in his SUV, driving faster than he did in his life. If a police officer pulled him over, Don could flash his badge and that would be the end of that short conversation.

By the time he reaches his apartment, he sees the blood on the carpet and panic spreads through his nerves. Looking further, Charlie comes in view, clutching a key in one hand and his chest in another. His eyes are wide, frantic things, darting around as a thin line of blood trickles down his mouth to his cheek. It’s a scene Don’s seen far too often and it’s one he never wanted to see someone he loved in.

Charlie’s phone is next to him and Don shuts it off once he’s in reach of it. He called the paramedics on the way and every second they didn’t get there, more of Charlie’s life bled out on the floor. Letting out a shaky breath, Don pulls his smaller lover against him, doing his best to not rile the injury. 

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs against Charlie’s hair, feeling tears sting his eyes but refusing to let them fall. “I should have protected you from her, I should have-…”

“N-No,” Charlie’s voice comes, weak and quiet from the blood loss. “N-No one c-could have known. I-I knew she w-was… like t-this b-but I never i-imagined she’d go t-this far.”

“Stop talking,” Don’s voice is firm without room for argument. “Save your strength.”

Charlie nods and not even a minute later the shrill of an ambulance siren comes. “You’ll be okay, baby. The doctors are here and they’ll fix you right up.”

“Mmmhmm…”

“Excuse us, Mr. Eppes,” a paramedic says and Don slowly lets go of Charlie. They swarm him and they ask the standard questions, what’s his name, medical history, any allergies, and so on. Eventually they put him on a stretcher and in the ambulance. “Are you his emergency contact?”

Don nods. As soon as Charlie moved permanently to Los Angeles, they put each other as their emergency contacts should anything happen. He was never more grateful for it as a paramedic told him to get in the ambulance. He didn’t think he could bear it if he had to follow in his SUV and play the waiting game.

**X**

Charlie was wheeled in surgery as soon as the ambulance pulled in. The nurses told Don to wait in a special room until it was over and he used the opportunity to phone his team, then his father, explaining what had happened. The team expressed their concern and asked if he needed anything, to which Don said no, everything was as okay as it could be. His father, well, he was sure Alan might have taken a mini heart attack when he told him the news. He said he’d meet him in the waiting room and Don expressed his thanks, secretly not wanting to wait alone.

Twenty minutes later, Alan arrives and (in a panic) asks what happened. Don explains as best he can with the limited knowledge he has; Olivia shot Charlie and he was in surgery to remove the bullet from his chest. He wished he knew more, not just for his Dad’s sake but for his own as well, and they end up playing the waiting game together.

It takes three hours, but a doctor comes out and asks, “Which one of you is Donald Eppes?”

“That’d be me,” Don pipes up, standing up from his slightly uncomfortable chair. “What’s going on?”

“We lost him once,” the doctor says, raising a hand at the look on Don and Alan’s faces. “We managed to get him back, but these next few hours will be crucial to his recovery. We need to keep a close eye on him and he might be able to return home in a week if his condition doesn’t raise any alarms.”

“Thank you,” Alan replies when he realizes his son isn’t saying anything. “When can we see him?”

“Only his emergency contact can see him at the moment,” the doctor says apologetically. “However, tomorrow Charles will be allowed regular visitors, if his condition doesn’t worsen.”

Alan nods in understanding. “I’ll head home then, Donnie,” he whispers once the doctor leaves. “Call me later if you need anything.”

With that said, his father leaves, leaving Don standing in the room. He shakes himself before he enters Charlie’s room, having mentally prepared himself for what he’d see, but he was still surprised at what he saw. His fiancé was hooked up to various machines and oxygen was in his nose, doing the breathing he couldn’t do.

It almost knocks the air out of Don’s lungs. Almost. He was sure it was the years of experience with the FBI that made him not sink to his knees at that very spot. Letting out a sigh, he sits in the chair next to Charlie’s bed, loosely holding his hand and looking at the clock on the wall. _It’s going to be a long night._

**X**

Charlie registers pain when he awakens. He blinks, eyes darting around suspiciously until they rest on the slumbering figure next to the bed. Smiling a little, Charlie runs his thumb over the pulse point on Don’s wrist, not wanting to wake him but unable to not have some kind of physical contact.

He almost died. His mother aimed a gun at his head and fired. The fact he survived was an anomaly and it was unlikely it would be the result of another such encounter. He shivers a little at the thought. His life was going the way he wanted it after almost thirty years of living and the last thing Charlie wanted to do was die.

A groan greets his ears and he looks over, seeing familiar eyes blink open in the little bit of light provided in the room. Charlie smiles and leans over, pressing a kiss against Don’s forehead as his fiancé begins the (rather slow) waking up process. 

“Donnie,” he whispers, affection bleeding in his voice, and he repeats the action over and over until the older man fully wakes up. “How long have you been here?”

Don glances at his watch and runs a hand through his hair. “I came here at five in the afternoon and it’s three in the morning so… ten hours.” He throws a small grin at Charlie and it causes his heart to flutter in his chest. Being on the receiving end of one of Don’s smiles always would do something to him. “How are you feeling, baby? Any better?”

“I’m sore,” Charlie admits, wincing when he attempts to move a little. “What about you? You’ve been here for ten hours. You must be uncomfortable.”

“You’re worth it,” Don says easily in response and his voice holds no room for argument. “Do you need anything?”

“Maybe,” a wince, “some painkillers.”

“I’m right on it,” his fiancé says and with a quick kiss against Charlie’s lips, Don presses the call button.

**X**

After Charlie was rested enough, he gave a statement to the local police and if Don didn’t hate Olivia Eppes, he did after he heard the woman aimed a gun at her son’s head and missed solely because Charlie moved at the last second. 

He took leave from work to be by Charlie’s side while he recovered and his team understood, even backed him up when the bureau started complaining about it. Don was never more grateful for the understanding of his colleagues and friends than at that moment. 

There were some complications during the younger man’s healing process, but he was released after a week and a half. Charlie initially muttered in annoyance when his fiancé told him that he was going to be guarded at all times, but eventually he did nothing but shake his head in fond amusement at his lover’s overprotective streak. 

A week after his release, Don returned to work and dug into the life of Olivia. He found out that she was a drug dealer who used the money from her sales to take exquisite vacations around the world. The reason she wasn’t caught was because as soon as the police in the local area would find her, she would be gone before they could apprehend her.

He didn’t tell Charlie of his findings, mostly due to the fact the man was still recovering and something like this would stress him, thus opening the possibility of being readmitted. No stress, the doctor had firmly told him. Not until he’s 100% recovered. 

So Don kept the information to himself and informed his team that he wanted them working on Olivia Eppes until a case came up. Things at work were at a lull so everyone understood and didn’t question their boss when he made the decision.

Their break comes three weeks later when Olivia contacted Charlie while he was visiting the FBI office. Trembling, he made a frantic motion with his hand, alerting Don that something was going on. When he made his way over, his fiancé mouthed one word and he was getting a trace on the call.

“Keep her on the line for ninety seconds.” Seeing Charlie’s distress, Don pulls him over for a quick hug before releasing him. There was only so much public affection he could display at work before his bosses would start bitching.

Charlie nods and talks, the call disconnecting exactly ninety-two seconds later.

“Put together a team and secure this area,” Don commands, indicating where a red dot was blinking and moving across the computer screen. “Don’t let her get away. She’s avoided the law for years and I’m not about to let her slip away now.”

David, Megan and Colby all nod and leave the bullpen. Feeling a confused gaze on him, Don turns around, coming eye to eye with the curious eyes of Charlie. He sighs, indicating that his lover should sit, and Charlie does so with a tip of the head. 

“Your mother’s a drug dealer,” he says, resting a hand on Charlie’s shoulder once he sinks further in the chair. “I’m sorry, Chuck.”

“I knew… something was wrong with her, but I never imagined-…” He pauses. “How long?”

“Ten years, since 1997.”

“Since my father died.” Charlie sighs. “He really was the anchor holding our family together. When he died, everything fell apart. If it wasn’t for Amita and her family, I’d probably be on the side of the road somewhere.”

Don grits his teeth. He didn’t want to imagine the most important person in his life on the streets. “I’ll have to thank her,” he opts to say after a beat of silence, forcing a smile on his face. “How’s she doing, anyway?”

“Amita?” Charlie smiles a little. “Last I heard, she was offered a position at another university. She refuses to tell me which one though.” He laughs a little. “It’s typical of her to be secretive until the last minute.”

They chat for a while before Don’s phone rings. He gets up and moves away from his fiancé, hating to be apart but realizing that Charlie doesn’t have the proper security clearance in case it was a new case. “Eppes.”

“We have her,” Megan says. “We’re bringing her up. I just wanted to let you know in case you wanted to take Charlie and go somewhere else while we interrogate her.”

“We’ll be fine. I have to calm down, but I’d like to talk to her myself when my emotions aren’t running everywhere.”

“Will do.”

Five minutes later, a team of agents brings a handcuffed Olivia up to the office. Her eyes dart to stare at her son and Don instinctively moves to shield him from her sight. A sadistic grin pulls at her lips as she’s dragged to the interrogation room and the agent takes a deep breath to calm himself. Calm. Charlie would need him calm.

“She moved to LA two weeks ago,” Don tells his lover once he realizes Charlie’s slowly blanking out. “That’s why we’re able to arrest her.”

“Mmmhmm.”

This was bad. The older man saw what happened when Charlie got this way; he retreated to P vs. NP to escape the realities of the real world. The one time he saw it was during the letter bombings case and he swore to never put the genius through such a thing again.

“Charlie, baby, I need you to stay with me, okay?” Don puts his hands on Charlie’s shoulders, giving him a little shake. “She’s not going to hurt you. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Yeah,” Charlie murmurs, lifting his eyes. “Just-… Don’t let your emotions blind your good sense. Don’t let her become the next Crystal Hoyle.”

“That-…” Don pauses. “All right. I promise. Stay here.”

Giving him a quick kiss to the forehead, Don makes his way to the interrogation room.

**X**

He makes his way slowly to where Charlie’s “mother” (Don’s hard pressed to call her that) sits, the same grin sitting on her lips. “Ah, Don Eppes,” she says once he enters. “What can I do for you?”

“You can do a hell of a lot for me, Olivia,” Don replies, his face a hard mask, voice flat. “Maybe you can tell me why you shot your son. Or maybe you can talk about the drugs you’ve dealt over the years. Your choice.”

“I shot my son because he’s a disgrace to his father’s memory,” Olivia spits, face contorting in disgust. “As for the drugs, you already know all about them, Agent Eppes.”

Don closes his eyes and breathes through his nose. Calm. He needed to be calm. Emotions couldn’t rule a person during interrogations. “You’re right, I have everything I need to arrest you for drug trafficking and attempted murder. I wanted to talk to you before you were taken away; try to understand why a mother would shoot her own son for no reason.

What I’ve learned from this is that you’re far from human, Olivia Eppes.” The door opens and two agents come from the doorway. “Take her away.”

He exits the room and is instantly embraced by Charlie’s warm arms. Not caring that his bosses would start bitching, Don wraps his arms around his smaller lover and sets his chin on his head. They stay that way for several moments, not saying a word, the embrace speaking more than uttered words could dare hope to. 

Eventually, Don pulls away and flashes a smile at his fiancé. “I’m all right. Thanks, Chuck.”

“Don’t call me Chuck,” Charlie grumbles, but he returns the smile. “Thank you, Donnie.”

“Anything for you, baby.”

**X**

“What do you think about children?”

Don tips his head at the forward question. That was completely out of left field and it took him a few minutes to come up with a response. “I’d like one or two someday,” he says, raising an eyebrow. “What, are you getting broody, Charlie?”

“Maybe.”

He wasn’t expecting such a forward answer and it threw him again. _I shouldn’t be thrown this much by something so simple,_ Don chastises himself, shaking his head. “Dad’ll be happy to hear that,” he jokes, smiling a little at the laugh it earns him. “What brought this on?”

“I’m almost thirty and you’re in your thirties. People often have children when they’re our age.” Charlie pauses and blushes a little. “That… and I think I’d be the happiest raising a family with you.”

Don grins a bit. Charlie modest was one of the most adorable things to him. “Let’s wait until gay marriage is legal in California and then we can talk about kids, okay?”

Charlie nods and leans more on his fiancé. “Thank you.”

“You’ll be doing most of the work,” Don reminds him. “You’re the girl.”

“I’m not the girl!”

“Sure.”

Charlie snorts and smacks the older man upside the head. “I’m not the girl.”

“I know. I’m teasing you and it scares me how easy it is to do that sometimes.”

“Jerk.”

“You love me anyway.”

The younger man nods and moves to straddle his lover’s hips. He leans down, pressing a kiss against Don’s neck before sucking on the skin. “You’re right,” he says. “I still do.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter is a little bit... different than the others. I've been sick for the past three days so I blame it on that. I hope this is enjoyable nonetheless.

Everything was all right in their world. The biggest threat to Charlie was eliminated so they could enjoy what the future has to offer them in peace. It was a comforting feeling. Despite the cases Don worked on, some of them more brutal than others, they had their moments where nothing else mattered.

It was during one of their more brutal cases that the Bureau brought in another agent, one that Don knew quite well and was rather surprised to see again. Victoria Penhallow was one of his many girlfriends from back in the day and although they left each other on mutual terms, it was still a little unnerving to see an old flame when you were fully committed to another person.

On her second day, Victoria comes up to him with that same smile that undid him so many times and, if he was being honest, still did a few things to him. “Ah, Donnie-boy,” she says, moving to stand next to him and rests a hand on his shoulder. “I hear you’re settling down with someone, a man, no less! What’s his name?”

“You know that but never got his name,” Don replies with a roll of his eyes and a snicker. Victoria was never one who paid attention to details like a person’s name. It was one of the things that the other agent found charming about her persona. “Charlie. That’s his name. We met on a chat site eight years ago on the 7th of June.”

“Ain’t that cute, you even got it down to the date,” Victoria murmurs with a hint of amusement in her heavily accented voice. “I’ve never taken you for a man who enjoys chat sites.”

“I had nothing better to do on a Saturday night,” Don replies with a shrug and a slight smile. “It was one of the best decisions I made, that’s for damn sure.”

Victoria chortles. “I believe it. When I can meet the man?”

Don blinks. “What?”

“When can I meet him?” she repeats. “We may not have talked in a while, but I still consider you one of my good friends. Hell, I can’t think of anyone else to call at three in the morning to complain about girls being total assholes.”

Don shakes his head in fond amusement. “I remember one time you did and all Charlie did was ask me who the “mysterious woman” was.” 

“Oh, so he kind of knows me,” Victoria states with a nod of the head. “Good. All I have to say is that I’m the “mysterious woman” and he should figure out the rest.”

“He might-…”

The familiar ringtone Don assigned to his fiancé rings and he smiles a little before answering it. “Hey Chuck, what can I do for you?”

“That answer tells me you’re free for at least five minutes and twenty three seconds,” Charlie’s voice comes. “Maybe sooner, depending if your desk phone rings during our conversation.”

“Uh huh, what did you need?”

“I wanted to make sure you were doing all right. You were tired, moreso than normal, last night and I had to determine whether or not you fell asleep at your desk.”

Don rolls his eyes. “Har de har har, Chuckles. I’ve never fallen asleep at my desk, thank you very much.”

Charlie laughs, a sound that always made butterflies fly about in Don’s stomach. “Sure, whatever you say, hot stuff. Anyway, I’m going to let you go; I have a minute left on my break. See you when I get home.” He pauses for a second. “Love you.”

“Love you too, baby,” Don replies honestly, grinning into the phone when Charlie hangs up. He glances at his colleague who has a smirk on her face. “What?”

“You’re so in love that it’s cornier than Twilight,” she whispers, her breath tickling his neck. “C’mon, I want to see else you have on this case so far.”

**X**

The case closes three days later, thanks to Victoria’s resources and some stupid mistakes done by the perpetrator. Don sits at his desk, doing the ever-so-boring paperwork that came after a case like this one, and he doesn’t notice someone come in until he hears Victoria and a familiar voice talking about something or other.

Blinking, he looks up, seeing his fiancé chatting easily with the woman. He raises a brow; Charlie wasn’t that comfortable around other agents who weren’t Don’s colleagues, but he guesses Charlie figured out who Victoria was, judging by the comfortable look on his face. 

“Hey, look at who’s getting all cozy,” he says once he reaches them, giving Charlie a quick kiss on the mouth. “Are you tryin’ to steal him from me?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Victoria says, snorting. “Plus, I think he’s head over heels in love with you, if the dreamy look on his face is anything to go by.”

“You would be too,” Charlie murmurs, smiling a bit. “Have you _seen_ him?”

“I have,” she says with a roll of her eyes. “I was just introducing myself to him, Donnie-boy. He’s rather cute. I see why you’d go for him.”

Charlie blushes with the compliment. “Um, thank you.”

“I’m still not convinced you’re not trying to steal him,” Don jokes, eyes light with humor. “I think I need some convincing on your part, Chuck.”

“When we get home,” his fiancé responds, grinning. 

“Promises, promises.”

“I repeat, cornier than Twilight.”

Charlie blinks, looking at Victoria with confusion. “Isn’t twilight part of the moon cycle?”

“It’s also a book,” Victoria says with a shake of her head. “It’s quite popular among teenagers. My little sister reads it and made me too. It wasn’t the kind of thing I’m into, but, ya know, you do anything to please your siblings.”

“You have siblings?”

“Two. Alyssa is somewhat of a child prodigy and Luca is a musician. They’re both home in Australia right now.”

“How old are they?”

“Alyssa is fifteen and Luca is twenty six.” Victoria grins a little. “I’m the oldest. I’m thirty two.”

Charlie’s eyes widen a bit. “I thought you were in your twenties, at least.”

“Well, thank you for the compliment, sweet thing,” she replies, barking out a laugh.

“We have paperwork to do in case you’ve forgotten?” Don breaks the conversation with the pointed statement. “And I don’t feel like doing it all myself.”

“Yes yes, I’m coming.” Victoria directs one of her undoing smiles towards Charlie. “We’ll have to talk more sometime. I’d love to get to know the man who stole this womanizer’s heart.”

“Ha ha,” Don mutters sarcastically, shoving the woman towards her temporary desk. “Get to work.”

“Sir yes sir.” 

Charlie chortles. He decides he likes Agent Penhallow, if not for her amusing relationship with his fiancé, then for the fact that she made him feel comfortable around her.

It was strange. He wasn’t comfortable around most agents because of what his mother told him, but since she’d been proven to be a drug lord, maybe he could learn to overcome his slight fear. 

**X**

“Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Charlie stops his writing of a particular equation on the whiteboard for a moment, but he picks it up again when he recognizes the voice. “Sure. What’s up, Agent Penhallow?”

“Victoria is fine, Charlie,” Victoria says with amusement in her voice. “’Agent Penhallow’ is only for those corporate schmucks who still believe women can’t do as good a job as men.”

Charlie smiles, chuckling a bit. “All right then, Victoria. What can I do for you?”

“I want the specifics,” she says, planting herself in Charlie’s desk chair. “I don’t know how long you have for your break but I think you have enough time to indulge an old friend’s curiosity?”

“I have about an hour,” he replies, setting the marker he was writing with on the holder and turning around to face the woman. “Why don’t you tell me about your history and then I’ll tell you ours?”

“Oh, I never took you for a man who does that sort of thing.”

“There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me.”

Victoria snickers. “Yes, I concede your point, considering we met yesterday.” A thoughtful look passes over her face before she nods. “You win. We met when I was in Quantico and he was teaching there. He taught me everything I know. We-… Well, we formed an attraction towards each other, or, in my case, what I thought was attraction.”

“We went out for a month and he was one of the best partners you could ask for, despite the job. Gentleman, opened doors, concerned for your well-being when something happened… When my brother got hit by a car back in Australia, he stayed up all night with me even though he had work in the morning.”

Here she smiles, albeit a sad one, and runs a hand through her hair. “I realized when we tried to have sex that I wasn’t into men. He understood, bless his heart, but I still felt like a grade A jackass for not realizing it sooner. I know he forgave me, but when he moved away to Albuquerque, we lost touch and I blamed that solely on what I did.”

“I know he’s had girlfriends; heck, he was even engaged to this woman once, but I never imagined…” Victoria shakes her head. “Let’s say I never imagined him with a man. Like I said in the office, he always seemed like a womanizer.”

Charlie tips his head, trying to process all the new information that was given. He thought that Don and Victoria were close (why else would she call him such a… different nickname?) when she mentioned they were old friends, but he never thought it went that deep. 

“Don doesn’t hold grudges; well, not unless you’re a scumbag,” Charlie reassures, patting Victoria’s shoulder. “I guess I should tell you how we met now that you told me all that.”

He feels his mouth curl upwards to a wide smile at the memories flooding his mind. “Don and I met in a chatroom for gay and bisexual men almost eight years ago. He told me he was on the site because he had an epiphany a few months back when he realized he just might find men attractive, in both senses of the word.”

“The site closed down about five years ago, but it was somewhat random. You put your interests and it shuffled and spit out someone who they thought you might have a good connection with. We both tried a few times before we ended up with each other and we talked for three hours before exchanging contact information.”

“We talked for three years before, well-…” Charlie blushes a little and flexes his hand. “He came back from a dangerous job, I could see it in his face, but he kept reassuring me that he was fine. I didn’t believe it. I kind of blurt out that if he had died I wouldn’t have been able to tell him that I love him.”

Victoria laughs. “Wow, talk about subtle.”

“I planned on telling him a different way but my emotions were running a little high,” Charlie admits, rubbing the back of his neck. “Anyway, he told me he felt the same way and we started dating. We became serious when we broke the year mark and a year later I flew from London to be with him. I made a couple trips and he made one before I was offered a position at this university. I took it without a second thought.”

“And the rest is history, right?” she finishes, a wide grin splitting her face. “He told me you got engaged a month ago. I noticed he’s wearing a ring but not you.” She snickers. “I know he’s not too cheap to buy you one. He’s just been busy, right?”

“Yes, I think so-…”

A knock on the door breaks their conversation and a student walks in. “Um, Professor Eppes, can you help me with something?”

“Of course.” Charlie looks over and throws an apologetic smile at the agent. “We’ll have to continue our conversation another time.”

“Sure.” Victoria gets up and pats him on the shoulder. “See you later, Charlie.”

With that, she leaves.

**X**

“What did you two talk about?”

The younger man stops his slow circles on Don’s chest and blinks in confusion. “You mean Victoria?”

“Yeah. She came back to the office and she said she understood you better,” Don grins and rests his hand over Charlie’s. “So spill.”

“We talked about you?”

“Me?” Don asks, perplexed. “What about me?”

“How we met you,” Charlie replies. “Her story was intriguing. It’s true that some gay individuals never realize their sexual orientation until they attempt sex with the opposite gender, but I never knew anyone who fit that criteria. Most of them just… knew.”

“Just knew?” The older man shakes his head. “I never knew of my bisexuality. One day, I was looking at men and finding them attractive. It was a totally new experience for me. But,” he says when Charlie makes a move to talk, “you were the only man I’ve ever been with.”

“I’d been with men and women, but more men. Something about them always turned me on more than women. Maybe their strength, yet you already know that.” Charlie grins. “You’re my dream guy, you know. Strong, muscular in all the right places, FBI gear… My ultimate fantasy.”

“Ultimate fantasy, huh?” Don snickers and ruffles Charlie’s hair. “Maybe one day I’ll show up in my FBI gear and ravage you. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes.” Here his voice drops to a lower octave and he moves his hand to cup the back of Don’s head before dragging him to a hungry, dirty kiss. “Do that for me and I’ll do anything you want.”

“Anything?”

“Anything.”

“Well then,” Don lowers his body and smirks at the prize in front of him, “I’ll have to consider it.”

**X**

“I have something for you.”

“What is it?”

Don smiles, a heartwarming one that always did things to Charlie, and he takes out a box. “It’s only fair I get you one.”

Charlie’s eyes widen as he opens it. It was a simple ring, silver, and looking at the inside saw a small D and C engraved. Tears threaten to overwhelm his vision and he embraces his fiancé in a hug. “Thank you. I love it.”

“Anything for you, baby.”

**X**

June 16th, nine days after their first meeting anniversary, Charlie was watching the news when something came up to interrupt it. Sighing, hating the interruptions, he moves to change to another channel when the newscasters voice stops him.

 _“Gay marriage is now legal in the state of California,”_ she says. _“Gay couples can now get their marriage licenses.”_

She rattles off the place and Charlie’s eyes widen. Gay marriage is legal in California. That means-… A happy laugh escapes him. He grabs his phone, not caring that he might be interrupting something important, and phones his lover and soon to be husband.

“Eppes.”

“Did you hear the news?”

“What news?”

Charlie laughs again. “Gay marriage is legal in the state of California, Donnie. We can get married.”

There’s silence on the line for a few seconds before Don says, “You’re not kidding, are you?”

“No! I’d never joke about something like this. You know that.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I guess I do know that.” The younger man hears the happy tone in Don’s voice and it makes him smile all the more. “Where’s the place?”

Charlie rattles off the local courthouse. “We can do it tomorrow if-…”

“I’m going to tell the team what’s going on. I’ll be there soon.”

“All right. I love you, Donnie.”

“I love you too, my soon to be husband.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this story is nearing a close. Maybe two more chapters and that'll be the end. I thank everyone who's left kudos and commented on this, I highly appreciate it!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UGH, FINALLY. I'm sorry I kept people waiting, but writer's block hit me like a truck and I couldn't find the words. I still think this chapter isn't as good as my others, but... eh. I feel it might be a little too sappy, but marriages are supposed to be, aren't they? :'D
> 
> I marked this story as complete, but an epilogue _might_ present itself. We'll see.
> 
> Thanks for sticking with this story so long!

"You need to get up, son."

Charlie blinks, rubbing his eyes. When did he fall asleep? Yawning, he stretches and looks around, freezing once he recognizes the house. It was the house he grew up in, but why was he here?

He gets out of his old bed, looking down at his attire. His favorite pajamas when he was growing up. They fit perfectly as if he was a child again. Feeling more confused, Charlie goes to the kitchen where a familiar face greets him. Pausing, he can feel his heart racing in his chest, but he sits down nonetheless, wincing at the pancakes that were in front of him.

"You know I hate these," Charlie mumbles, trying to make his tone light even though he has no idea what's going on. His father gives him a look, one that says _I don't care, eat them anyway_ and he takes one last look at them before taking a bite. Still as horrible as he remembers, but they don't make him nauseous like they used to.

"I'm sorry about what happened with you and your mother," Ivor Eppes says, an expression on his face that Charlie can't read. It fades after a beat, being replaced with a tender smile as he reaches forward and ruffles his son's hair. "I wish I could be there to watch you walk down the aisle with the man I see you love more than the world itself."

"I wish that, too," Charlie whispers, voice choked with emotion. He wipes at the tears that threaten to fall and takes another bite of the pancakes, just to please his Dad. "You saw everything?"

"Yes, my boy," Ivor replies, taking a seat across from Charlie and watching him eat his food with quiet contempt. "I've seen your life after I've left the world and my one wish was that I could have protected you from Olivia. But," he smiles again, this one wider than the last, "I know your husband will protect you where I'm unable to."

Charlie blushes at the term 'husband'. "We're not married yet, Dad."

"You will be, soon. I may not be there physically, but know you have my blessing and I wish nothing but happiness for you, my precious son." Ivor reaches over and takes Charlie's hand, squeezing it affectionately before letting go. "You have to go now. He's waiting for you."

"Dad?"

"What is it, boy?"

Charlie swallows against the tears. "I love you."

His father's lips quirk upwards. "I love you too, son. Go back now."

_"Charlie?"_

-v-

Charlie opens his eyes, unsurprised to find the moisture hiding in them. He's also unsurprised to see Don hovering over him, hands on either side of his face, a worried expression marring his features. His fiance moves his hands to cup either side of Charlie's face and his thumbs wipe at the tears falling from his eyes. "What's wrong, baby?" Don whispers, concern bleeding in his voice.

"I had a dream... or maybe it wasn't a dream," Charlie pauses and puts his hand on Don's chest, smiling faintly at the steady heartbeat under his palm. "I saw my Dad. We talked. He said he gives me his blessing."

"Your Dad, huh?"

"Yeah."

They sit up and Don wraps Charlie in the safe cocoon of his arms. Charlie rests his head against the agent's chest, letting the steady _thump thump thump_ chase away his worries. They sit in silence for a long while, taking comfort in the other's presense, until Don speaks. "You never talk much about your father, even in the eight years I've known you. I know it's a painful memory but... I want to know about him. You can tell me whenever you want, just tell me one day, okay?"

Charlie nods. That was a reasonable request. "I can tell you now, before we go to the courthouse, if you'd like?" He tips his head back, another smile pulling at his lips when he sees the expression on Don's face. "That's a yes, I assume."

"It is, smartass," Don mutters and yanks on a curl. "C'mon, tell me."

Charlie shakes his head and delves in the life of Ivor Eppes, how he was his protector, always doing what was best for him when his mother wasn't around and how he did his best to understand the numbers that constantly floated about in his head.

"Your residential superman, huh?" Don asks once Charlie finishes his story.

"You could say that," Charlie replies, a small smile quirking his lips upward. "After he died, I had no idea what I was going to do. My... mother disappeared and there was no place for me to go. I survived for a couple days. Amita found me on the third and took me in." The mathematician strokes his fingers up Don's arm, stopping at his shoulder, and massages the muscles there. "I felt bad when she confessed she loved me, but what was I to do? I already fallen hard for a certain FBI agent."

"Complicated situation to be sure," the older man says, resting a hand against Charlie's and soaking in its warmth. His love for this man would never cease, and they were about to prove it to everyone. "I, however, am quite glad you decided to stay when a chance of normalcy was thrown at you."

Charlie chortles, pressing a kiss against Don's forehead, his eyelids, cheeks, and finally his lips. "I wasn't about to give you up. We've fought too hard to get where we are."

"You've got that right." Don pulls Charlie towards him until their faces are centimeters apart. "Ready to prove it to the world?"

"I thought you'd never ask," the smaller man says with a grin and happy laughter. "Let's go."

-v-

After making sure they have the necessary paperwork, identification, and money on hand, they make their way Pasadena Courthouse, a little surprised to see at least fifty gay and lesbian couples waiting there. Resigning themselves to waiting at least two hours, Don leaves to get them something to drink while Charlie sits on a bench. He puts his iPod headphones in his ears and loses himself to the music, but something tapping his arm makes him look up.

His eyes widen when he registers who it is. "Amita?" he says, surprise evident in his tone of voice. "How did you get here?"

"I have my ways," his best friends replies, a wide smile on her features. "You're finally doing it, aren't you?" The smile widens to a grin at the blush on Charlie's face. "Good for you, Charlie. I found someone myself over the time we've been apart."

"Have you?" Charlie tilts his head. "Who?"

"It would be me," a voice, heavy with an Australian accent, speaks up, and Charlie recognizes it immediately. He stares with what's likely a deer caught in the proverbial headlights expression as Victoria walks up to them and rests her arm across Amita's shoulders. "We're pretty good at hiding it, huh?"

"I'd say... how long has this been going on?"

"About nine months, after I met her on a dating site of all things," Amita answers, tucking her hair behind her ear and flushing a little for reasons Charlie figures he knows, but doesn't want to ask. "We're not going to jump the marriage train anytime soon, so don't go getting any ideas."

"I would never," Charlie says with humor, smiling a bit at the grin on Victoria's face. He waves Don over once he sees his soon to be husband scanning the area, and he points to Victoria and Amita with a little dramatic flare. "They're together, did you know that? If you did, I'm going to kick your ass and not in the nice way either."

"Whoa, easy there, kid. This comes as much as a surprise to me as it does to you." Don raises an eyebrow at his fellow agent. "You finally found someone, did you?"

"I told you I have a thing for foreign women, didn't I?" Victoria says, a breathy snort escaping her. "Amita is everything I want in a woman. Dream girl right here." With that said, the Australian squeezes Amita's neck before biting the younger woman's ear, earning her a little squeak. "Isn't she cute?"

"I guess so," Don mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck and shaking his head. "I don't pay attention to anyone but my husband these days."

Charlie goes an interesting shade of red as Amita grins and Victoria snickers. "It'd be bad if you paid attention to _my_ girlfriend while the man you're going to marry is sitting right there," Victoria says, a snarky tone to her voice. "Besides, Charlie's quite the looker. You got lucky, Donnie-boy."

"I know." Don flicks his eyes over to look at Charlie and a small smile paints its way on his face. "I wouldn't trade him for anyone or anything."

"You're so sappy," Victoria mutters, but a smirk rests on her lips. "Want us to keep you company while you wait?"

"Sure," Charlie answers before Don can speak. "I'd like to hear more about your relationship."

"We're not a math problem, Charlie," Amita reminds her friend gently, a little smile on her face, "but we'll answer your questions, right Vic?"

"'Course."

-v-

The four talk easily as the line gets smaller, and an hour and a half later, it's their turn to enter the courthouse. "Ready?" Charlie asks, taking Don's hand and flashing him a reassuring smile.

"Born ready," Don replies, squeezing Charlie's hand and entering the building with him.

The judge looks at them with a kind look and nods at them. "Your names?"

"Charles and Donald Eppes," Charlie says. "We're one of those rare couples who have the same last name but no blood relation."

"We've seen a few of those today," the judge replies. "Do you have your paperwork, identifications, and fees?"

"Right here."

They hand the woman their information, watching with anxiety as she looks it over. She nods after a few minutes and returns it to them. "Everything looks okay," she says, gaze focusing on Charlie. "You're from England?"

"Yes ma'am."

"How do you like Los Angeles?"

"It's a great place to live." Charlie turns his head and smiles at Don. "Even better because he's here."

She nods again and finishes typing up something on the computer. The license prints off and she hands it to them, a warm look on her face. "As a judge, I formally recognize your marriage in this country. Best of luck in your lives."

"Thank you," Charlie murmurs, moisture making his eyes shine. He looks at Don, who has an emotional look on his face, before looking at the judge. "Do you mind if we...?"

"I've seen many kiss in front of me after presenting them with their license," she replies, waving a hand and smiling. "Go ahead."

Charlie barely has time to breathe before Don pulls him against his chest, capturing his lips in one of the most emotional kisses he's ever gotten from his now husband. He lets the tears fall from his eyes, wrapping his arms around the taller man and holding him close until air becomes an issue. They pull back, tender looks on their features, and Don nods at the judge, nodding at her and expressing his thanks before taking the license and heading out of the building.

-v-

"Charlie! Don!" Victoria calls, waving them over and grinning at the lamented paper in their hands. "Congratulations, you two," she says, capturing both of them in a hug before Amita does the same. "C'mon, we have a little surprise for you."

"Should I be afraid? Last I checked, your _surprises_ involved unpleasant things," Don jokes, ducking his head when Victoria takes a swing at him. "You wanna go?" he teases, shoving her a bit. "I just got married, but I can go if you want me to."

"All right, break it up," Amita says, fake exasperation in her voice. "Let's just show them their surprise."

"Fine," Victoria mutters, shaking her head. "Get in your car and follow us, boys."

Charlie watches the women walk off, confusion on his face as he looks at his husband. "What's going on?"

"Beats me," Don answers, shrugging and wrapping an arm around Charlie. "Let's just see what they have for us."

The smaller man nods and gets in Don's SUV. He runs his fingers on his arm, not wanting too much distance, and watches the buildings and cars zoom by. "Did I tell you I love you today?" Charlie inquiries, squeezing Don's arm before letting his fingers return to their movements.

"Maybe once or twice," Don replies, his eyes crinkling at the sides at the smile he emits. "It's always nice to hear it."

"I'll say it over and over, until the day comes I can't anymore," Charlie says, leaning forward to press a kiss against Don's cheek. "I love you, Donald Eppes."

"And I love you, Charles Edward Eppes."

-v-

They reach Don's family house, where it's decorated with white and various things people would see at weddings. Charlie stares, eyes wide, and Don looks similarly surprised when his father comes up to them. "Congratulations, my boys," he says, giving them each a famous Alan Eppes hug and moving back to stare at them. "Your mother would be proud of you, Donnie."

"Thanks, Dad," Don replies, his voice hitching a little with emotion. The backyard was the picture of a private ceremony and he slaps Alan on the shoulder in thanks. "Is this just for us or are others coming?"

"Just for you," Alan answers. "Victoria, Amita and I will be in the house."

He enters the Craftsman, leaving them to stare at each other with awe and surprise. "Shall we do this, again?" Don asks, holding his hand out to Charlie.

"Yes," Charlie murmurs, taking his hand and moving towards the little area done up for them.

-v-

"We didn't even do up vows."

"Think of something off the top of your head?"

Charlie snorts. "Funny. Fine, how's this?"

He takes a deep breath, clenching Don's hands in a strong grasp.

_“You are my lover and my teacher,_  
You are my model and my accomplice,  
And you are my true counterpart.  
I will love you, hold you and honor you,  
I will respect you, encourage you and cherish you,  
In health and sickness,  
Through sorrow and success,  
For all the days of my life." 

Don smiles at the bright shade of red his husband is. "You're as poetic with words as you are with numbers, it seems. I wouldn't have guessed with your scrabble abilities."

Charlie narrows his eyes in amusement. "What's yours, Mr. I'm so hilarious?"

The older man thinks for a few seconds, smiling as the words flow in his mind, as natural as breathing.

_“I promise to be your lover, companion and friend,_  
Your partner in parenthood,  
Your ally in conflict,  
Your greatest fan and your toughest adversary.  
Your comrade in adventure,  
Your student and your teacher,  
Your consolation in disappointment,  
Your accomplice in mischief.  
This is my sacred vow to you, my equal in all things. All things." 

Charlie's face goes an even more interesting shade of red, yet tears hide in his eyes. "Now we kiss... again?"

"Again," Don says, wrapping his arms around Charlie. He smiles down at him, stroking his face with a loving touch before capturing his mouth once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap! It was fun writing this piece and I'm glad others seemed to have enjoyed the ride as well. 
> 
> The wedding vows came from this site -> https://www.theknot.com/content/favorite-wedding-vows-from-real-weddings


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